Mt. Pleasant gets closer to solving food truck issue

Mt. Pleasant city commissioners are closer to agreeing upon language for a revised peddler and transient merchant ordinance.

Following Monday’s city commission meeting, elected city officials gathered for a work session to brainstorm new ordinance provisions.

After about an hour, commissioners had come to a general consensus about enough provisions that a draft ordinance will be prepared, once again, for vote.

The finished ordinance will contain a sunset clause, and will expire one year after it is passed.

“I like the idea of doing something like this on a trial basis,” commissioner Jon Joslin said.

Commissioners agreed that while they would not restrict the days food trucks could serve, they will only be allowed to operate between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Food trucks will need to relocate if they present a public safety hazard or snow needs to be cleared.

No more than 12 food trucks will be granted permits at the city and permits will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Application fees were also reworked.

Peddlers will have to pay $100, food trucks will have to pay $500 and transient merchants will see a $1,000 fee.

Non-compliance fines will be 150 percent of the application fee.

Finally, food trucks must remain 150 feet away from the front entrance of any food-serving business while it is open.

Commissioners were concerned with ensuring food trucks did not create a direct competition with tax-paying businesses.

The decision was the latest in several city sessions involving the food cart ordinance.

The city held a work session in April and had looked at the issue as an agenda item during a regular meeting in May.

The problem arose when the Wiener Wagon upgraded from a food cart to a food truck earlier in the year, City Clerk Jeremy Howard had said.

The wagon, formerly a hand-pushed cart, had upgraded to a motor vehicle-pulled trailer and came before the city to renew its license.

However, Howard said, the city did not have an existing ordinance that the trailer would fall under.

Now, city commissioners are looking at updating the ordinance.

Dog Central owner Paul McFall said while he is a fan of food trucks, and does not mind push-cart businesses, he does not like the Wiener Wagon’s typical parking spot at the intersection of Main Street and Michigan Street.

Especially because the two businesses sell very similar products.

“They can sell things at a cheaper price without any overhead, and they can sell things without having to worry about their taxes,” McFall said. “It would be one thing if he was down (the street) selling hot dogs, but I can see him from my front door.”

Dog Central, 111 E. Michigan Street, opened in August 2012.

Kyle Stahl, owner of the Wiener Wagon, spoke to the city during its June 10 meeting about the “cool factor” the food trucks bring.

“We very much like being downtown,” he said. “We feel we have changed the atmosphere downtown.”

Stahl, who has sold hot dogs out of both a food cart and food truck since August 2012 as well, said he gets comments from customers saying they like the big city feel that the downtown merchants give.

Howard said there is no timetable for a vote on the ordinance at this point.

Randi Shaffer is a reporter at the Morning Sun. She can be reached at 989-779-6059, rshaffer@michigannewspapers.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/randi.shaffer.